JOHN PIPER (BRITISH 1903-1992) FOR ARTHUR SANDERSON: A length of 'Arundel' fabric, circa 1950s, in the white colourway, sewn into two pillow cases, together with a length of 'Arundel' fabric, in the black colourway, sewn into one curtain panel.

Arundel white: Each case approx 70 x 75 cm
Arundel black: 127 x 70 cm

Reference:
See Victoria & Albert Museum, London, accession number T.1068-2000 for another example of this fabric.

John Piper was one of Britain's most distinguished and prolific artists of the twentieth century. Working in many different styles across his career, he was a painter and print maker, designing stained glass windows, theatre and opera sets, ceramics and textiles. Piper's textile designs embodied his love of Britain's art and architecture, landscapes, and abstract and religious imagery. He created designs notably for a number of tapestries and alter pieces, and importantly for Lots 231 - 234, furnishing fabrics for Arthur Sanderson & Sons Ltd.

In 1959, Arthur Sanderson commissioned five textile designs from John Piper as part of their 1960 Centenary Celebrations. 'Arundel' is one of these designs, with two of the other designs shown in Lots 232 and 233.

This panel design is based on Piper's designs for the stained-glass windows of Oundle School chapel, designed in 1956. The fabric featured 15 different abstract designs of 'Christ the King' which made up the full width of the material, which then repeated. This was printed by Sanderson using 15 separate screens - a very complex piece of printing.

Sanderson's Victorian warehouse in Chiswick is now the headquarters of Chiswick Auctions.